RLA Welcomes Government’s Delay on Digital Tax Returns

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is welcoming yesterday’s announcement during the Spring Budget 2017 that the Government will delay plans for digital tax returns.

In his first Budget announcement yesterday, Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed that the measure, known as Making Tax Digital, will be delayed by one year for landlords with a turnover below the VAT threshold, to give them more time to prepare for digital tax returns, including record keeping and quarterly updates.

RLA Welcomes Government’s Delay on Digital Tax Returns

Implementation of the digital tax returns is now scheduled for April 2019.

The news arrives just weeks after the RLA called for such a delay in front of a Parliamentary committee looking at the policy.

Research by the RLA last year found that 48% of landlords use spreadsheets for record keeping, 38% use paper records, and just 13% use specialist software.

The Vice Chairman of the RLA, Douglas Haig, comments: “The RLA has long called for more time to enable landlords to properly implement this radical change to the system of administering tax.

“Whilst we support efforts to improve the efficiency of the system, faced with unhelpful changes to the way they will be taxed, the last thing landlords needed was an imminent change to the way they keep their records.”

He adds: “The Chancellor has made the right decision in giving landlords more time to prepare for this important change.”